Illegal business on refugees: how the Mexican police, 'helpers' and cartels make money on those who want to get to the USA

Как уже reported ForumDaily, the number of Russian-speaking immigrants applying for political asylum in the United States has increased dramatically in the past year. Since getting an American visa in Russia almost impossible, the vast majority of these refugees are trying to enter the US through the southern border, applying for protection at the checkpoint. However, crossing the border is not as easy as it might seem, and there is an entire industry helping (but primarily for its own benefit) newcomers to cross the cherished border line. Immigrants who have recently walked this path themselves shared their impressions and observations with us.

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Police business: "hole in the fence" and raids in hotels

Maxim Vernikov from Yekaterinburg, I had to leave Russia abruptly, not being able to prepare for departure. In fact, the security forces put the Uralian before a choice: either become a perjurer, helping to fabricate criminal cases against civil activists, or end up in prison. Maxim preferred the third option - leaving the country. He flew to Istanbul, from there he got to Mexico City, and then to Tijuana, where the main checkpoint across the American border is located.

The main source from which Maxim received information was the thematic Telegram chat, where future immigrants communicated. According to the Uralian, this is where people get to know each other, exchange information and sometimes even agree to buy a car together. How lawyers say, in this case, a car is not a luxury, and often the only way to get to America, since those who try to cross the border on foot are turned back much more often by border guards, preventing them from entering the United States.

«As far as I've heard, you can get to the States on foot, for example, through an underground tunnel that goes directly to a gap in the wall on the US border, and which, I suspect, the Mexican authorities deliberately do not close so that they still have the opportunity to earn on the wire of immigrants. In chats, it is simply called “a hole in the fence.” Some, as far as I know, managed to get into the United States by standing in line at the border on foot and asking for asylum. But yes, in such cases, the likelihood of being deployed is much higher.", - says Maxim.

That is why Maxim Vernikov and his new acquaintances from the immigrant chat decided, like many others, to buy a car together. The cars, he said, are freely available in Tijuana and are also part of a huge business that has unfolded around the transfer of people across the border.

«It is clear that almost all foreigners in Tijuana, if they are not Americans, are those who want to cross the border. The police, in turn, make money by periodically capturing these people and releasing them only for large bribes. Sometimes raids are held in car markets, sometimes in hotels. Once I myself almost fell under such a raid, which descended on the hotel where I was staying. I was lucky that on that day I had already checked out the room and managed to quickly leave from there.", - admits Maxim.

The refugee notes that, formally, the arrest of people who are legally in Mexico is illegal, but this is of little concern to the Mexican police. At best, those who end up in a Mexican prison will be able to pay off with a bribe, at worst, they will be kept behind bars until the end of their legal stay in the country, and then deported to their homeland.

«The biggest risk when you cross the border is that you will be turned around. Then you, too, will be in the hands of the Mexican, not the American border guards. By the way, cars that are confiscated at the border are sold by the police back to the car markets, and this also makes up a large part of their business.", - shares Maxim.

No less cashing in on refugees and various "helpers", whose services are also often discussed in thematic chats. Some of them are limited to helping you choose a good car in the car market. Others, the refugees suspect, have ties to the Mexican police and, for a "moderate" fee, are called in to let them know when shift changes are expected and there will be fewer officers at the border.

«In a word, both the Mexican authorities and private individuals and cartels make money on this. This is a huge illegal business.”, summed up the immigrant.

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“The driver was dragged out like a terrorist”

Having bought a car, Maxim and his new acquaintances went to the border. As the Uralian recalls, the first border line is something like a “speed bump”, or, as immigrants call it, “pimples”. They must be passed in order to be on American territory.

«The second stage is the point at the barrier, where you finally submit your documents and say: “I need political asylum.” But it is difficult to get there, because an American border guard is still standing on the “pimples” and demands to show a document giving the right to enter. So it was with us. However, our driver abruptly stepped on the gas and drove past the officer, after which we were already legally in the United States. Now we could no longer be returned to Mexico - from a legal point of view, we committed an offense in the United States, and they were obliged to detain us", - explains Maxim.

The refugee noted that sometimes American border guards stand right in front of the car, and drivers have to drive ahead, that is, in fact, "put the border guard on the hood." This could earn the driver a few extra months in jail. Fortunately, in his case, this option was avoided.

«However, the border guard was just furious. Our driver noticed that he was already getting ready to draw his gun. He immediately stopped and raised his hands. They dragged him out of the car like a terrorist - very harshly. We said we needed shelter. This must be stated very clearly. After that, they were already obliged to guide us through all the procedures.", - explains Maxim.

Maxim and his friends were taken to the border prison - the one that is the most notorious among immigrants. Uralets confirms that the conditions in this detention center are such that some begin to dream of deportation.

«This is an underground room where there are no clocks and daylight. You are in complete isolation, you can not even call a lawyer. White light of the same brightness burns around the clock. In a word, the psychological pressure of such conditions is enormous. You sleep there on a hard mattress, under a foil blanket. I spent 8 days there, in a cramped cell for 12 people. They conduct a brief survey on your situation, but they provide an interpreter", - recalls Maxim.

"People didn't know if it was day or night"

Refugees admit that it is almost impossible to calculate who will be released and who will not, but by comparing each other's experience, immigrants have identified some patterns. According to them, the first 8 months of the presidency Joe Biden almost everyone who asked for asylum at the border was released, with rare exceptions. However, since the beginning of December, the situation has changed dramatically, and almost everyone has been detained, except for parents with small children.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

Other refugees from Yekaterinburg, Elena Pariy and her spouse Victor Baldin luckier - they crossed the border in October, and after several days of detention in a border prison, they were released.

«When we almost reached the border, the guys from the chat wrote to us that they would like to go with us. We came back and took them. We were stopped, but the policeman spoke to us very kindly. Then they transferred us to the detention center, took away all our belongings and put us in the hall, in iron chairs. There was an interesting case: when the border guards called for "Elena", another woman, obviously the namesake, went instead of me. Americans hardly pronounce our last names, and she really could not understand that it was not about her. But for some reason, she signed the protocol, and still did not pay attention to the fact that someone else's surname was there. As a result, they brought me documents in her name, and because of this confusion, I sat and waited for a conversation for more than a day"- Elena recalls.

Then the woman was sent to a cell where there were 22 people. People lay on mattresses on the floor, under yellow foil.

«However, it wasn't too cold there. But I saw that people who are there for several days do not understand whether it is day or night. For example, there were girls from Armenia who forged documents to cross the border. They had been in detention for a week and it was very difficult for them. There is nothing to brush your teeth with, nowhere to wash, in a word, the conditions are really difficult”, says the refugee.

According to immigrants, such conditions seem to be specially created for people to “hate America.” However, if the calculation was such, it clearly failed. Maxim Vernikov, like many others who crossed the border, is now filled with optimism and hope to start a new life, leaving the most difficult memories behind.

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